1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a motorcycle having a swing arm with a hollow bore formed therethrough, to accommodate a drive shaft for driving a rear wheel of the motorcycle. More particularly, the present invention relates a shaft-driven motorcycle incorporating a swing arm support structure in which a portion of the swing arm is connected to a suspension link member attached to a lower portion of a vehicle body frame.
2. Description of the Background Art
There are several known support structures for a swing arm of a motorcycle. In general, such kwon structures for supporting a swing arm of the motorcycle include a swing arm swingably supported by a vehicle body frame via a pivot shaft; a suspension link connected between a lower portion of the vehicle body frame and the swing arm; and a rear shock absorber provided between the suspension link and an upper portion of the vehicle body frame.
Here, the motorcycle drives a rear wheel pivotally supported at a rear end of the swing arm through a drive shaft extending inside the swing arm. An example of known motorcycle having a swing arm support structure is disclosed in the Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-87364.
According to the aforementioned conventional configuration of swing arm support structure, as disclosed in the he Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-87364, a downwardly extending bracket is provided on a lower end portion of the swing arm, and a suspension link, for receiving an end portion the rear shock absorber, is connected to this bracket. For this reason, the ground clearance of the suspension link is reduced, making it difficult to maintain a sufficient ground clearance of the motorcycle.
From viewpoint of design, the position of the suspension cannot be lowered to a large extent. Accordingly, when design is made in consideration of performance such as ride comfort and the like, design flexibility of the suspension link is reduced.
The present invention has been made to overcome such drawbacks as discussed above. Accordingly, it is one of the objects of the present invention is to solve the problem involved in the aforementioned conventional technique, and to provide a motorcycle having an improved design flexibility of the suspension link while a ground clearance thereof being maintained.